Memory, psychology and second language learning (review)

In this book, Randall reviews a wealth of research in linguistics, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and language processing, focusing specifically on the second language (L2) learner. Bringing together the contributions from these fields, Randall proposes a fresh, well-informed perspective on the mental processes underlying both first language (L1) and L2 acquisition and examines, in particular, the bottom-up processes related to the spoken and written word. He also examines in depth how knowledge of these processes might be applied to different contexts of L2 teaching and learning.

Chapter 1 sets the stage for the theme of the book - memory and L2 learning - through an introductory discussion of the different types of evidence associated with language processing across disciplines. In particular, it discusses the historical shift from behaviourist psychology to cognitive psychology, focusing on psycholinguistics and modularity, information-processing views, memory models, connectionism, and brain imaging. The chapter also examines the construct of short-term memory versus working memory (WM) and details the theoretical underpinnings of WM, which are central to the discussion of how language is processed in the remaining chapters of the book.

Chapters 2 through 7 form the core of the text and are followed by an eighth chapter, or activity book. Chapter 2 discusses the micro-processes involved in speech perception and decoding spoken language, with an emphasis on the interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes in listening comprehension. Chapter 3 focuses on decoding print and examines different models of word recognition, particularly connectionist models. The focus of chapter 4 is the role that top-down processes and accumulated L2 knowledge play in both speech and writing; this chapter also examines the potential role of cultural schema and personal experience in text comprehension. Continuing the focus on long-term knowledge in L2 learning, chapter 5, drawing on evidence from psychology and linguistics, describes various L1 models of the mental lexicon and explains how the cognitive architecture of such models can be applied to L2 learning in terms of observed storage and retrieval processes. Chapter 6 looks specifically at the role of WM in actual learning (e.g., implicit vs. explicit pattern recognition, automatization of basic fluency skills) in instructed L2 contexts. Chapter 7 then shifts to an applied perspective and examines how different L2 teaching methodologies affect various aspects of cognitive processing in the classroom. The final chapter takes the form of a workbook containing a series of exercises that illustrate the ideas discussed in earlier chapters.

A particularly interesting aspect of chapter 7 is the suggestion that pedagogical practices generally associated with communicative language teaching may not directly engage important cognitive processes related to language learning. Randall points out that traditional teaching techniques or audiolingual-type activities such as repetition, memorization, and rote learning, which are most often excluded from current communicative approaches because of their low communicative value, may actually target specific WM processes and, in turn, help build basic word-recognition and word-retrieval skills. The discussion in this chapter, as well as the related activities in the workbook, would therefore be particularly informative for both pre-service and experienced L2 teachers who wish to examine the cognitive or pedagogical value of more traditional forms of teaching in the communicative classroom.

Overall, this volume covers an impressive variety of topics with respect to memory function and L2 processing. One shortcoming, however, is that the main discussion on WM is largely limited to a theoretical description of the cognitive architecture underlying Baddeley's (1986) WM model and its subsequent versions. As a result, the reader misses a number of empirically interesting findings on WM and classroom-based L2 acquisition that would benefit the discussion on L2 language learning throughout the book. Nevertheless, Randall's discussion of the various facets of WM involved in L2 learning is insightful and well done throughout; in fact, this volume is one of the first in the SLA field to provide a comprehensive view of the important role that WM plays in both...